The online passport application portal will remain closed for maintenance for the next five days, the government said. During this time, no new appointments can be made and appointments already booked will be rescheduled.
“The Passport Seva portal will be unavailable from 29 August 2024, Thursday, 8:00 PM IST to 2 September 2024, Monday, 6:00 AM IST due to technical maintenance. The system will be unavailable to citizens and to all MEA/RPO/BOI/ISP/DoP/Police Authorities during this period. The appointments already booked for 30 August 2024 will be rescheduled accordingly and communicated to the applicants,” said a notice on the Passport Seva portal.
The Ministry of External Affairs said this was a routine procedure. “We always have contingency plans for rescheduling appointments. Maintenance work for a citizen-facing service (like Passport Seva Kendras) is always planned in advance so that no inconvenience is caused to the public. So rescheduling an appointment will not be a challenge,” a ministry source said.
Through the Passport Seva portal, appointments can be made at centres across the country to apply for a new passport or to renew a passport. On the day of the appointment, applicants have to appear at the passport centres and submit their documents for verification. This is followed by a police verification and the passport is sent to the applicant’s address. Applicants can opt for the regular mode, where the passport reaches the applicant within 30 to 45 working days, or the Tatkaal mode, where it reaches the applicant within a few days.
